Construction for rehabilitating rail joints



M. MARKLEY Dec. 9, 1930.

IS ANI! w3 n SW1/toas Mifowzvfmzey Patented Dec. 9, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MILTON'MARKLEY, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE RAIL JOINT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF N EW YORK CONSTRUCTION FOR REHABILITATIN G RAIL J'OINTS Application led January `22, 1930. Serial'No. 422,627.

This invention relates to a novel means for rehabilitating worn rail jointsl and possesses utility not only in connection with the headcontact type of rail joint, but also in connection with the headfree type of `rail joint wherein the bar has a loa-ding engagement at and in the head illet oi the rail.

To that end the invention primarily has in view a practical and effective means for restoring a worn yrail joint in track, to proper fishing position, with proper clearances from the rail, in order that adequate adjustment may be made by the tightening of the bolt and the joint otherwise restored to full operative position and edectiveness for such additional service as may be obtained from the same. In carrying out that object the invention contemplates a construction which is advantageously applicable to the head-contact type ot' jointbar to correct the undesirable coclring inwardly of the bar, when worn, and in effect converting it into the lieadfree type of bar wherein the main loading engagement is at the head iillet of the rail, while at the same time providing a construction which may be employed with equal advantage in the regular headfree type of bar in oider to restore the base part of the bar to a proper clearance over the rail basek flange so that the proper and adequate adjustment may be made in the foot of the headfree bar upon the tightening of the bolts. In other words, the present invention contemplates a reliable meanstor rail joints equally applicable,`with desirable results andadvantages, for restoring to proper itishing position both the head-contact and headfree types of rail joint bars.

With these and other objects in view which will be readily apparent to those familiar with the art, the invention consists in the novel features of improvement hereinafter more fully described, illustrated and claimed,

and while susceptible of embodiment in various structural forms, certain preferredk and practical examples of the invention, are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which z- Y Figure l of the drawings is a vertical halfsectional view of a rail joint illustrating the wear that .occurs at the head and foot of a head-contact type of rail joint bar, due primarily to inwardicocking thereof.

- Figure 2 is a verticalhalf-sectional view of a rail joint illustrating that form of the invention wherein a head-contact type of bar worn by linwardcooking is restored to a new and correct fishing position, and functifoiling on the principle of the headfree type o ar.

' Figure 3 is a side elevation of the joint with the joint bar lremoved to vexpose the preferable embodiment of both the upper and lower sets of spacing plates which are used to rehabilitate the head-contact type of bar, such as shown in Fig'. l.

`Figure 1i is a vertical sectional half-view of a rail jointshowing the wear that occurs in the Jfoot flange of a'headfree type of bar f `Figure 7 is a sectional view showing a inodiiied form otspacingfor compensating plate lemployed beneath the toot of a headfree type of joint-bar.

Figure v8 is a detail perspective of one of the lower spacing or compensating plates used in its preferable Jform. c

Like references ldesignate corresponding parts in the several iigures of the drawings.

conventional type,V so for example there is shown in the drawings a continuous rail joint bar designated generally by the reference numeral l and including in its organization the bar head 2, the lfoot tlange overlying the basei'iange tot the rail R and the railfsupporting base plate or base member 5 integrally united with the foot flange 3 in the 90 In carrying the invention into etlect the,v same may be embodied in aijomt bar of any usual neck formedwith the spiking toe These are the usual elements of a continuous joint bar, but the present invention is primarily` concerned with those port-ions `of the bar subject to wear and which when worn cause ythe lbar to 4assume anincorrect position and not. susceptibleaof being properly-.ad-

* ,'usted to maint-ain a tight joint. Taking for Viis instance the illustrationvof Fig. 1 of the drawings, the dotted-line m at vtheV head ofthejbarv indicates the j wear from the undesirable cooking inwardl A,of a. headcontact bar,` `this being krthe resu t' ofthe outerfpor'tion of4 itstop surface, as at fv,wearingI downtofa degree where there could be .no longer a-. proper head fishing cntact with.` the underside ofthe rail head vadjacent `the outer edge]V fofthe lattenwlienigthe bar is straightened'to .acorrectfishing positrion. f At tlie'same ,time

a aheadmontactlbar which has been worn down andfcocked?'inwardly"at the head as indi-,

, cated,.becomes` worn. to a greater or less de'- aan greeral'ong thefsurfaceejFig. 1, that is. atthe undersideoffits; foot flange contiguous to and I adjoining the'bottom inner toe projection 8;

Consequently,.in order to rehabilitate ajint Y havinga bar v`worn-inthismanner it is not only necessary torectifyor straighten the bar to-a correct. fishingfposition,y but also to pro-1 c f videa1properfbearing'rand clearancelat the foot of the barin order thatit may effectively function asza railzjointy structure even though Y y the bar asa clearance frornthe outer portion yoffthe-headifishingsurface ofthe railas shown. inF-ig. -oflthe draw-ings.v

' correct ishingpositionfand sproperly mounted and arranged so as `tofunctionmainly in the f Referring ynow 'more .particularly to Fig.

of Vthe drawings :this drawing` illustrates the wornrailjoint bari-of rFig. 1 rehabilitated to a manner ofthe headfreetype ofbar wherein the loadingy engagement forthe bar4 is at or adjacent the 'headsfilletof the rail. .To acv tntringftheplates foryrestoring toiproper lishmi",17k

i The-headSand footfspacing in'lengthsshorter in lengththanone-half o1` the Slength ofthe joint lbar. and freferringfto' ingandjadjustingthe position ofthe foot fof fy the and' thereforeproperly termed Vthe 1 yfloat; spacing plates.y 'Theseplates Vare preferably made of mild steel, that is,l steel milder or softer ithan thel steel offtherail and .joint as spacers and wear elements.

bars-'in -order tofperform the dual function are,` for practical purposes, preferably made plates 9 and 10.v

Figs. f2Y and 3 of the drawings willbe seen that each head spacing plate 9 is interposed 'between the inner side of the the bar head 2 and the rail web and preferably extends upwardly into the recess of the head fillet of the rail, whereb the inner sideof the head-.of the hearing `against the f said spacing plate while the upper surface of the bar head also takesa partial bearing against the undersindeMof -vthe rail" head .at al ydistance inwardlyk from the youter-edge thereof because vof the worn top/(@ 1) ofthe bar due to the Acookingir'iwar" l'y as previously explained.

Thus, the bar. .head is seated substantially within' the rail yhead fillet and adjacent both sides thereof ina manner similar toztheseatits rectiiedor corrected position,'with the use "of the head spacingjplate 9, becomes in effect a headfree structure wherein the adjustment thereof: is provided forby.` the rotative movement ofthe foot of the bar Vover the railbase flange andinforder yto provide for the correcty seating. ofthe bar', particularly where worn (a) ,-1 over therail base flangev the foot spacing plate 10 is employed whichfis interposed be tween the worn underside of the bar foot flange 3 and the upper inclined surface of 'the rail baseflange 4. f Accordingly, it will 'be seen' that theV spacing plates f )and l() not only compensate for'the worn places at. the head. and footfof the bar,:but'also correctly restore the `bar to a lproper fishing position `with .proper clearances for further adequateiadjustment;4 n Y .In order toprevent longitudinal displacement or creeping of the `head and foot spacing. plates9zand 10 various expedients can resorted to, but preferably this is .accomf `plished by .providing each head spacing plate at its bottomledge with `al depending locking apron adapted toerrtend between atpair of` jointboltsan'dftoI provide each foot spacing:l plate 10 :at its `upperedge ywith an upwardly; projecting:locking` apron 12,-y adapted .to exr tend between two bolts andto havel lockingvl engagement; therewith', `Also, it will', be oh- -ing yofthe,barv head inthe headfree type .of joint. so that the loading engagement. of the barihead. is at a distance inwardl7 from theY outerside of the rail headfThus, the bar in.

`servedthatjiinythe preferable construction eaehdoot spacinglplate l() is an langle formation with the bottom inclined 'flange thereof finterposed'between theafootfof the bar and Vtheupper-sideof therail flange` and the f upstanding :flange thereof constituting fthe A or 'stop (againstlongitudinal movement. L f v apron [12' which .provides thelock A further featureiofpractical 'importance 'in connectionwithrthe use of the restoration or spacing plates9 vandA 101isV that these yplates l permit of. the joint restored to properfishing position and adjustment while' the joint 'ba-r is intrack and without` dis-- Vvturbing -tlesurfacef offthe'Y track. lThat iey readily accomplished, as can be seen particularly from Fig. 3 of the drawings by merely slightly loosening the bolts of the oint and taking out one end bolt at a. time which permits of slipping the plates 9 and l0 into the joint from that end and then replacing that joint bolt, and subsequently repeating the operation from the other end of the joint after which all of the bolts are fully tightened and the joint' then becomes fully re- A:head-contact type, but as previously indicated the invention is clearly applicable to the restoration of worn joint bars of the headfree type. In that type of rail joint, that is, of the headfree type the said joint includes joint bars designated generally by the reference letter B and having a head portion C and the foot portion D, the head portion being provided with an inner bearing member 13 having a bearing and rotative engagement with the fillet 14 of the rail R and at this point, that is, at the head fillet, the bar has its loading engagement. In such a joint bar wherein the foot member D has a rotative movement inwardly and upwardly over the rail base flange -l the main wear occurs at the underside of the foot member as at W and such wear is compensated for, in the present invention, by the use of a foot spacing or compensating plate. l

i.. of the kind and type already described and sub-serving the same function as the said plate l() shown in connection with the rehabilitated head-contact type of joint bar. Thus, it will be seen that with the headfree type of oint illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings the joint is restored to proper shing and proper clearance by the use merely of a foot ,spacing plate, which is arranged as shown in Fig. 6 of the drawings to permit of the joint being rehabilitated in track in the same manner as hereinbefore described.

To illustrate the range of modification which may be resorted to in carrying for-- ward the invention thereis shownin Fig. 7 of the drawings a modified structure wherein each foot spacing platey is provided with an inwardly folded upwardly extending apron l5, which like the apron l2 previously referred to, extends between and engages the bolts at the same time the downturned edge portion of the folded apron l engages the web'of the rail, in such a manner as to keep it pressed outwardly toward the joint bar instead of being free to drop inwardly so as to allow the lower flange of the plate between the raily flange and'thefoot of the bar'toy work outwardly. This action serves to assist in holding vthe foot spacing plate in correct operative relation with a joint bar and furthermore the folding of the said apron inwardly also serves to at least double the resist-ance of the apron against the bolt, since there are two thicknesses of metal provided by the yapron-to engage the bolt instead of oney thickness. However, the greatest utility of the `folded-over apron is that of serving to keep the main'part of the apronoutwa-rd in a. substantially upright position.

Other modifications of the joint rehabilitating construction may Vbe resorted to without vdejarting Vfrom the invent-ion and itwill also be understood that changesin the form, proportion and minor details of construction.

may likewise be resorted to within the contemplation of the invention and without vdeparture fromthe scope of the claims.

Iclaimzl. A rehabilitated rail joint structure including the rails, a. splice bar having bearing engagement with the rail head and a clearance from the outer portion of the head fishing surface of the rail, and a wear compensating spacing member interposed between` the foot of the bar and the rail flange.`

. 2. A rehabilitated rail joint structure including the rails, a splice bar having its inner head projection engaging the rail and having.:

a clearance from the outer lportion of the head clearance surface ofy the rail and a wear compensating member Vinterposed between the foot of the bar and the rail flange andhaving .means preventing displacement thereof.

3. A rehabilitated railjoint structure including the rails, a splice .bar having its inner the rail head and a loading engagement with f the rail at the head fillet thereof, and a wear compensating and restoration member interposed betw'feen the foot of the bar and the rail iiange.

5. A rehabilitated ra-il joint structure including the rails,'a splicebar having head fishing clearance from the outer portion of the rail head and a loading engagement with the rail at the fillet thereof, and a wear compensating and restoration plate of angle formation, one flange of said plate overlying the rail flange under the foot of the bar and the other flange of said plate having alocking engagement with the joint bolts.

V 45' i memm 6jnAirehabilitatedraily joint structureincludi'ngltherailsy asplice bar Vhaving head'l shin V-jclearancefrom'fthe outer portion of the rail headvanda loadingivengagement with Y 5, the rail at theflflet thereof; a' clearanx'zefresto` ,f f rationplate arrangedsbetween the head ofA theburaml the rail web' and a clearance res-vr toration plate arrangedbetween the foot ,off the lbarfand the rail' web; "f

' 1.0;- 37. Arehabilitated.railjointstructure in-f cluding iny combination the rails, clam ing; bolts,` a joint bar ,h'avingahead clearance rom thefunderside. of the outer portionfofthe rail f j head and also having a bearing surface atits 151, inside face,` a; zplate'ly arranged between said bearing srfaceandthefrail` web'and a plate i interposed betweenlthefupper sideof the railf 8.l Avrehabilitatedwrail joint Structure in:-A cluding the rai1s, joint bars, .and clearance v restoration. plates i interposed between 1 the joint bars and the rail, each of said restoration plates being shorter inlength than one- Y 25 haifoftthelengchefthe jointbar.

, 9.AV rehabilitated rail "joint structure in-V clu'dngxthe rails, joint bars,y and clearance restovation'aplates interposed between the jointQbars andthe raiL each of said restorafan tion platesbeing. shorter inlengththan onen yhalf ofxtheilengthof the joint barand insert-able'endwise into the'joint fromone end Y Y V10;'Afrehabilitated*rail joint Vstructure in- A 35i cluding, the rai1s,}joint bars.and'c1earance restorationk ,platesy interposed#between` the 'joint bars andfthe'rail, each of saidlestora#` tion plates :being shorter in klengththan one-'f2 half of the` length of the joint bar yand in- 40; sertable endwise into'the joint'fronfiV one end f' thereof `when one jointbolt is removed. i In testimony lwhereof I hereunto affixV my signa-ture.;

f `MILTON'MARKL'EYI Ggifn'f' flange and the underside of the foot; of the j *y n y 

